Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (NYSE: ANW) today announced it plans to commence physical supply operations in Cape Verde, an archipelago of 10 islands located off the coast of Western Africa, upon entering into a strategic co-operation with Enacol, a local energy company based in Cape Verde.
Under the terms of the agreement, Aegean Marine will utilize its modern delivery fleet to provide bunkering services from the port of Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente and off-shore. Enacol will be responsible for providing storage for quality fuel oils and distillates to meet the needs of all major sectors within the international shipping industry. The port of Mindelo serves as a strategic commercial hub that lies along major cross-Atlantic shipping routes as well as important trade routes between Europe and the Far East via the Cape of Good Hope. Aegean Marine expects to initially deploy one double-hull bunkering tanker toCape Verde and commence operations by the end of the first quarter of 2011.
E. Nikolas Tavlarios, President, commented, “We are pleased to co-operate with Enacol and once again expand our global reach by establishing a strategic presence in Cape Verde. The port of Mindelo provides exciting opportunities for our Company as we remain focused on profitably increasing sales volumes. By providing an integrated marine fuel solution throughout this market, which connects critical trade routes between North and South America, Africa and Europe, we expect to increase fleet utilization and expand our future earnings potential. Importantly, based on our co-operation with Cape Verde’s leading energy company, we will not incur any incremental capital expenditures by launching operations in this new and attractive market. We also expect to achieve operational efficiencies with our existing service centers located in Ghana and Las Palmas.”
Mr. Tavlarios added, “Including Cape Verde, Aegean Marine will serve 17 markets covering more than 40 ports worldwide. As we continue to expand our geographical portfolio and strengthen our industry leadership for the global supply of marine fuel, we intend to draw upon our considerable financial flexibility and take advantage of additional consolidation opportunities that create long-term value for the Company and its shareholders.”
Source: PR Newswire
